I Want You to Want Me
| Format = 7-inch single | Recorded = Kendun Recorders, Los Angeles, 1977 | Genre = Power pop | Length = | Label = Epic | Writer = Rick Nielsen | Producer = Tom Werman | Last single = "Oh, Candy" (1977) | This single = "I Want You to Want Me" (1977) | Next single = "Southern Girls" (1977) | Misc = }} | Format = 7-inch single | Recorded = Nippon Budokan, Tokyo April 1978 | Genre = Hard rock, power pop | Length = | Label = Epic | Writer = Rick Nielsen | Producer = Cheap Trick | Last single = "California Man" (1978) | This single = "I Want You to Want Me" (1979) | Next single = "Ain't That a Shame" (1979) }} "I Want You to Want Me" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick from their second album In Color, released in September 1977. It was the first single released from that album, but it did not chart in the United States. "I Want You to Want Me" was a number-one single in Japan. Its success in Japan, as well as the success of its preceding single "Clock Strikes Ten" paved the way for Cheap Trick's concerts at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in April 1978 that were recorded for the group's most popular album, Cheap Trick at Budokan. A live version of "I Want You to Want Me" from the album Cheap Trick at Budokan was released in 1979 and became their biggest selling single, reaching #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=2009-07-16}} It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing sales of one million records. In Canada, it reached #2 in on the ''RPM'' national singles chart, remaining there for two weeks and was certified Gold for the sale of 5,000 singles in September 1979. It was also the band's highest charting single in Britain, where it reached #29. Years later, Rick Nielsen and Petersson criticized the lightweight production of "I Want You to Want Me" as it originally appeared on their second album, In Color. Cheap Trick went as far as to mostly re-record that album in 1998. Producer Tom Werman explains: "'I Want You To Want Me' was a fabulous dancehall type of song, and a perfect pop tune, and it was meant to be a little campy. I put the piano on—a guy named Jai Winding played it. I remember asking the band what they thought of it, and Rick Nielsen kind of shrugged and said, 'You’re the producer.'" Further: "It was a burlesque song, like a 30’s number. That is what they wrote it as." Version differences The live version has a higher tempo than the album version, which contributed to its success. However, the album version features an echo at the verse "Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin' (cryin)". This echo does not appear in the live version. The crowd, however, emulates the echo by chanting "cryin'". The live version consists of two guitar solos, while the studio version has a piano fill as a second instrumental. Between 1976 and 1977, Cheap Trick recorded a version played in the style that they did in concerts in 1975 and 1976. It was played with dramatic vocals, high tempo and two guitar solos. It was released in 1996. The earliest version of the song was played in 1976, almost identical to the "alternate" version (closer to the version they had originally played), except with a slightly different song structure. This version was released in 1998. The band has also released a festive alternative version of the song, based on the live Budokan version, but with slightly different lyrics, called "I Want You For Christmas", in 2012. Critical reception In the 2007 book Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, a section on Cheap Trick featured reviews on the top 20 stand-out tracks from the band. One track included was "I Want You to Want Me", where the author John M. Borack wrote "the In Color version lacked anything resembling balls, but that was remedied on the hit version from the groundbreaking Cheap Trick at Budokan disc. A piece of history and a darned cool tune, to boot." Chart history Weekly charts Year-end charts All appearances | Length = | Label = Hollywood | Writer = Rick Nielsen | This single = "I Want You to Want Me" (1999) }} *1977: In Color *1978: From Tokyo to You *1979: Cheap Trick at Budokan (Recorded Apr 28, 1978) *1991: The Greatest Hits *1991: Queens Logic soundtrack *1996: Sex, America, Cheap Trick compilation (Alternate Version) *1997: Private Parts soundtrack *1998: Cheap Trick (1998 Reissue) (Early Version) *1998: Cheap Trick at Budokan: The Complete Concert *1999: That '70s Album (Rockin') *1999: Music for Hangovers *2000: Authorized Greatest Hits Cover versions *Tigertailz - Young and Crazy (1987) (bonus track on re-release) *Rob & Fab - Rob & Fab (1993) (added two verses of rapping) *Propagandhi – How To Clean Everything (1993) *Letters to Cleo – 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack (1999) *Dwight Yoakam – Tomorrow's Sounds Today (2000) *SR-71 - Here We Go Again (2004) *Lindsay Lohan – A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005) *Chris Isaak – Best of Chris Isaak (2006) *Holmes Brothers - State of Grace (2007) *Quiero Club – Rudo y Cursi soundtrack (2008) *Damhnait Doyle – Lights Down Low (2008) *KSM - Read Between the Lines (2009) *Aly Michalka – Bandslam soundtrack (2009) *Brooke Elliott and Jaime Ray Newman - Drop Dead Diva soundtrack (2010) *Snowy Shaw - Snowy Shaw is Alive! (2011) *Gary Jules - released as single (2011) *Punchline - So Nice to Meet You [EP] (2012) *Leif Garrett - "Three sides of . . ." (2007) *Chase Holfelder—Major to Minor (2014) *Mylène Farmer – Interstellaires (2015) *Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox Feat. Sara Niemietz - Fake Blues (2017) References External links *class=song|id=t2547215|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic entry * Category:1977 songs Category:1977 singles Category:1979 singles Category:2001 singles Category:Cheap Trick songs Category:Chris Isaak songs Category:Dwight Yoakam songs Category:Jim Witter songs Category:Lindsay Lohan songs Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Category:Songs written by Rick Nielsen Category:Number-one singles in Japan Category:Epic Records singles Category:Reprise Records singles Category:Hollywood Records singles Category:Live singles Category:Song recordings produced by Tom Werman